Supplier News
US – Boyd encouraged by Borgata’s online start
By Phil - 15 January 2014
Boyd Gaming said it was ‘encouraged’ by Borgata’s first month of online gaming in the newly launched provided New Jersey internet gaming market.
Keith Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Gaming, said: “We are extremely encouraged by Borgata’s performance during the first full month of online wagering. While this is just one month of results, the leadership position we have built at Borgata over the last decade has clearly carried over to our online presence.
“When matching our online and land-based data bases, we found that 60 percent of online casino customers had not been to Borgata in over a year, and over 75 percent had made fewer than two trips to Borgata in the past year. And on a combined basis, online and land-based poker revenue at Borgata was up more than 40 percent from our land-based play in December 2012. Clearly, online gaming is complementary to our land-based business, not competitive.
“Having New Jersey’s most trusted gaming brand has provided a solid foundation for our successful online launch. Our network has attracted the largest pool of players in the New Jersey online market, allowing us to offer our customers a wide selection of games and table stakes at all times. This gives our network a significant competitive advantage and positions us for further success.”
“We are confident that as we refine our marketing efforts, improve the customer experience, and introduce our mobile product, we will further strengthen our leading position in online gaming. We have significant room for growth ahead of us.”
“Boyd Gaming embraces online gaming and sees it as an important distribution opportunity. The roll-out in New Jersey is a good first step, but we are looking forward to opportunities in other markets as well. ”
Commenting on Borgata’s land-based operations, Smith said: “Results for our land-based operations for December did not meet our expectations. However, the shortfall was due to several short-term factors, including an unusually low hold percentage and severe winter weather during two weekends. While we are disappointed in the December results, we remain optimistic that the positive momentum we have seen in recent months will continue in 2014.”
